Truths
by adpi24
Summary: AU. N/S. Repost & Edited. Sara finds out a secret on her birthday. Rating might be high. R & R.
1. Chapter 1

Truths  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them  
  
Paring: N/S  
  
AN: Just got the idea from the N/S yahoo shipper board  
  
IMPORTANT: This story is completely AU (alternative universe). I HIGHLY doubt this will ever happen on the show. It's just for fun. It would take place after season 3, so anything up to season 3 might be mentioned.  
  
*~*~*  
  
September 16, 1971 5:35am  
  
"Come on Elizabeth, one more big push and you will bring this baby into the world" the doctor encouraged the young mother  
  
"I can't, I'm so tired"  
  
"You can do it, Elizabeth" the young man next to her said, wiping her forehead  
  
Elizabeth Connelly gathered up her last remaining strength and pushed with all her might.  
  
"Ahhh" she screamed  
  
"Good job, keep pushing" the doctor stated, with one final push the baby came out and screaming into the world.  
  
"Congratulations it's a girl" the doctor said "would you like to hold her?"  
  
Elizabeth looked tiredly around the room; she saw her parents and his parents. They were all in shock that she had given birth, but she knew what she had to do.  
  
"No"  
  
The doctor looked taken aback and was about to say something when Mrs. Connelly stepped forward and spoke.  
  
"Doctor, I'm assuming you weren't aware, but they will be giving her up for adoption. The adoptive parents are in the waiting room. If you could please take the baby to the nursery, while I get them."  
  
The doctor nodded. He handed the infant to the waiting nurse who immediately left the delivery room.  
  
Elizabeth looked over to her boyfriend, who was still holding her hand. He squeezed it, hoping to give her comfort and love. She turned her head, knowing that no matter what her life would never be the same and their relationship would also never be the same.  
  
*~*~*  
  
September 15th, 2003 8:00pm  
  
Sara walked into the break room, eager to start tonight's shift. When she arrived she saw Nick sitting on the couch reading the paper.  
  
"Hey Nicky"  
  
Nick looked up from the paper and smiled at Sara.  
  
"Hey Sar, how was your night off?"  
  
"It was good; I met my friend Nicole at Rain. We hung out and danced for awhile. We also managed to get hit on every loser within a 2 mile radius" Sara said exasperated, sinking into the couch next to Nick.  
  
Nick put his arm around Sara's shoulders and pulled her closer to him.  
  
"Poor Sara" Nick said mockingly  
  
"Thanks for the sympathy" Sara replied sarcastically "I mean we all can't be like you and not pick up losers"  
  
"Hey, I never said I didn't have losers hitting on me"  
  
Sara turned and faced him "Please, have you looked in the mirror lately. There is no way you don't have completely gorgeous women hitting on you"  
  
Nick blushed at her comment, "And have you looked in the mirror lately Miss Sidle, your selling yourself short Sara. You're a beautiful woman, not only on the outside but on the inside as well"  
  
Sara's face became red at his comment.  
  
"Thanks Nicky"  
  
"Your welcome"  
  
Before either of them could say anything else, Catherine, Warrick and Grissom came bounding into the break room.  
  
"Okay, I've got assignments. Nick and Sara you two are on a murder-suicide in North Las Vegas" Grissom said handing the sheet of paper with the information on it to Nick.  
  
"Catherine, Warrick and I are on a triple homicide out in the desert"  
  
He handed the paper to Warrick and he and Catherine began reading over it.  
  
"Okay, let's get out of here"  
  
With that the team got up and headed out.  
  
"Do you wanna drive or do you want me too?" Nick asked  
  
"You can"  
  
They got into Nick's Tahoe and headed towards the residence in North Las Vegas, which was roughly a thirty minute drive due to traffic on the strip.  
  
"So" Nick said  
  
"So.What?" Sara responded  
  
"Tomorrow's your birthday, you have any plans"  
  
"How did you know it was my birthday?" "Sara, I've only worked with you for four years, how do you think?"  
  
"Yeah, but I've never publicly announced my birthday"  
  
"Doesn't matter, but I will never reveal my source of information" Nick teased  
  
"Grissom. He told you didn't he" Sara stated  
  
"Yeah, it was Grissom. He actually told me ahead of time that we would be working together tonight. He made me promise to make sure you have somewhat a good birthday"  
  
"And how did he do that?"  
  
"Convince you to make sure I had a good birthday"  
  
"Didn't take much Sara, I care about you. I want you to have a good birthday"  
  
He turned and gave her his famous thousand watt Texan smile and Sara felt her heart almost miss a beat.  
  
'Get a grip Sidle, it's only Nick' she thought to herself.  
  
They drove the rest of the way in comfortable silence, each caught up in their own thoughts. *~*~*  
  
At the same time in another part of Las Vegas  
  
The woman sat in her hotel room staring at the picture. The picture of her now grown up child. She hadn't seen her daughter in over thirty years. She never forgot the cry her daughter made right after she was born.  
  
She closed her eyes and remembered the man, her boyfriend, her lover. They were both so young. Only 14 when they first had sex and became pregnant. They loved each other. They had met in September of their freshman year of high school. They were in biology class together. They were assigned seats next to one another and partners in lab. Their friendship quickly blossomed when they each discovered that they both shared a passion for science. She turned to him when her home life became hectic in her parents constant fighting; he became her home away from home. His parents almost literally adopted her into their family.  
  
They had decided to have sex when they discovered all their friends were having sex, this was the era of "make love, not war". It was a cold day in January 1971 that they lost their virginity to each other. They were young and stupid, neither one thinking about protection, assuming that pregnancy was something that happened to everyone else and not them. Boy were they ever wrong.  
  
When she discovered she was pregnant, fear ran rampant through her body. She didn't know what to do. He was the first person she told and they cried together. Knowing that she couldn't do anything but carry the child to term, they kept her pregnancy a secret for as long as possible. It wasn't until May, when she was well into her fourth month of pregnancy that the cat was let out of the bag. Both sets of parents were furious. Furious at the other child for somehow 'corrupting' their own. Furious at each other for not being aware. They screamed and yelled at the two for what seemed like hours. It was then decided, unanimously amongst the parents, that the child would be given up for adoption. There was no discussion, no choice, and no options.  
  
Her parents arranged for a couple in their early thirties, who lived outside San Francisco, to adopt the child. They also arranged for the adoption to be a closed one.  
  
After her daughter was born, she attempted to carry on with her life. Her boyfriend and best friend in the entire world moved away, his parents decided there were just "too many bad memories". She never heard from him again. She managed to live her life to her parent's expectations, but never once forgetting her daughters cry. She graduated high school at the top of her class and earned a full ride scholarship to Yale. After college she married and eventually had two other children, sons Michael and Andrew.  
  
She eventually broke down and told her husband about her first child on what would have been her thirtieth birthday. Her husband encouraged her to hire a private investigator to find her missing child. It had taken two years, but here she was in Las Vegas, ready to find her daughter.  
  
She was interrupted out of her thoughts by the sound of her cell phone ringing.  
  
"Hello.yes this is Elizabeth Connelly-Marks.really.where.oh my god.hold on." Elizabeth quickly grabbed a piece of paper. "Okay what's the work address.okay..okay.I don't believe it..after all these years.thank you.thank you so much.okay.bye"  
  
Elizabeth hung up her cell phone and sat on the bed in complete shock. Not only had the PI found her daughter, but she found the father as well and both resided in Las Vegas.  
  
She got up and went to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. She slowly changed into her pajamas and got into bed. She set the alarm on her cell phone and quickly fell to sleep. Tomorrow would be a fresh new day and she would see her daughter and former lover for the first time in thirty-two years.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
September 16th, 2003 5:30am  
  
Sara and Nick slowly walked back into the break room. They were exhausted. They had gathered bullet casings, fingerprints and found GSR on the victims. After all they went through, Brass's hunch about it being foul play and set up to look like murder-suicide had been wrong.  
  
Sara and Nick both went to the couch and quickly plopped themselves down, Sara resting her head on Nick's shoulder. Nick put his arm around her and pulled her body somewhat closer to his, she welcomed the closeness.  
  
"Sara, what time were you born?"  
  
"What?" she said drowsy  
  
"What time were you born?"  
  
"Oh at 5:35am"  
  
Nick looked down at his watch, "well that so happens to be two minutes from now"  
  
"So, your point being"  
  
"My point being that it's your birthday Sara"  
  
"I don't know, I've just never been excited about my birthday. My parents never made a big deal out of it"  
  
"You should have been a member of the Stokes family, birthdays are a huge celebration"  
  
Sara looked up and him and smiled, "I believe you when you tell me that"  
  
Nick looked down at his watch, one minute.  
  
"I didn't get you a present" he said  
  
"Nick its okay, not that big of a deal"  
  
He looked down and saw the seconds ticking away and he made a command decision. He decided that he would show his true emotions.  
  
"It is now 5:35am, happy birthday Sara" he whispered into her ear  
  
"Thank you" she whispered back  
  
Nick quickly leaned in and kissed her fully on the lips. Sara was surprised but responded only to have him pull away.  
  
"What was that for?" Sara asked confused  
  
"Your birthday present"  
  
"Thank you" she said and leaned in to capture his lips once more. This time the kiss was filled with more passion, want and need. Sara's arms went around Nick's neck managing to pull his face closer to hers. His arms went around her waist pulling her body closer to his. They eventually pulled apart when the need for air became too great.  
  
"I have to say that so far this birthday is turning out to be pretty damn awesome"  
  
"I'm glad" Nick said and got up from the couch, pulling Sara up with him.  
  
"Nick what are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to take you out for a birthday breakfast"  
  
"Nick, right now, were working"  
  
"Did I not mention before that Grissom promised me to make sure you had a good birthday?"  
  
"Yeah" "And he knows that our 'foul play' murder-suicide wasn't the case"  
  
"Okay"  
  
"So I'm sure he won't even care if we leave. We have our cell phones if he needs to get a hold of us" Nick said, now begging  
  
Sara smiled; she couldn't resist Nick Stokes and his charm  
  
"Okay Mr. Stokes you got yourself a date"  
  
Nick smiled, grabbed her hand and the two walked out hands intertwined.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
AN: I wanted to give y'all what I had. It's just that it's 10:20pm right now and I've been writing nonstop for about an hour and a half. I can't write anymore. I've written out what I want. This honestly and I seriously mean this will be concluded in the next chapter at most two. I just wanted to get this out. 


	2. Chapter 2

Truths  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them  
  
IMPORTANT: This story is completely AU (Alternative Universe). I highly doubt it will ever happen on the show. I'm writing this for fun.  
  
AN: This may be a repost, but I still want to thank the original people who reviewed. SAR, EmmyMik, crazypixie, lilybelle80538, darth kel, yaba, jhfortier, missyjane and a bloom. Thank you. To anyone else who reviews, Thank you.  
  
*~*~*  
  
September 16th, 2003 6:00am  
  
Sara and Nick were sitting in the IHOP just off the strip waiting to place their order. Even at six am the restaurant was quite busy.  
  
"So what will the birthday girl be having today?" Nick asked  
  
Sara smiled. Even though it was somewhat embarrassing that Nick kept doting on her, she loved the attention. She had never received this much attention from anyone on her birthday in her life. She loved it, although she would never admit it out loud, let alone to Nick.  
  
"I think I'm gonna get the French toast. Want my bacon?"  
  
Nick smiled, "Sure"  
  
"What are you getting?" "I was thinking about the Rooty Tooty"  
  
Sara laughed, she always thought that name was pretty humorous, Nick also began to chuckle. Their waitress come over moments later and took their order.  
  
"Nick" Sara said after the waitress left  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Just in case I forget to tell you, thank you"  
  
"For what"  
  
"Breakfast, my birthday" she paused "the kiss" she whispered  
  
Nick grinned from ear to ear when he heard her thanking him for the kiss. He had wanted to kiss her for longer than he cared to admit, he just used her birthday as an excuse to do it.  
  
"Your welcome, happy birthday Sara" Nick said and squeezed her hand.  
  
Their food came before anything else could be said and they ate in comfortable silence. After breakfast, Nick insisted on taking her home and thereby picking her up and taking her to dinner before work that evening. Sara pretended to put up a fight, it was in her character, inside though she was jumping for joy at the chance of spending more quality, alone time with Nick.  
  
Nick dropped Sara off at her apartment, even walking her to her door. She pulled him into a simple, yet passionate kiss. Moments later he walked back to his Tahoe and left the parking lot of her complex. Eager to get home, to bed and dreaming about Sara.  
  
*~*~*  
  
September 16, 6:30pm  
  
Elizabeth walked briskly through the Las Vegas Crime lab halls. She had obtained a visitors badge without much difficulty. She just explained to the receptionist who she was here to see and that she wanted it to be a surprise. She showed proper identification, went through metal detectors and even had a wand search of her body. She was walking past what appeared to be a break room when she stopped dead in her tracks.  
  
She saw her daughter.  
  
The woman was sitting with a handsome young man who was holding a cupcake that had one candle on it. From where she was standing, Elizabeth could tell the young mad was singing happy birthday to her. Her daughter seemed to be relishing in his attention of her. She blew out the candle and gave the young man a hug. She never even noticed the woman watching her from the hallway.  
  
Elizabeth pulled herself together and began looking in earnest for his office. His, she couldn't even think about him, if she did too many memories would come rushing back. She rarely mentioned his name; it was always, him, he or his.  
  
It took little time but she found his office. The door was open. She saw him sitting at his desk and reading what appeared to be a case file. She knocked on the door. The man looked up and it only took a moment for him to clearly remember who she was.  
  
"Gil"  
  
"Elizabeth"  
  
Grissom stood up, "please come in" he said while walking around the desk.  
  
"Thank you"  
  
He closed the door behind her, not realizing that he left it open a smidgen.  
  
"It's been years, how are you doing?" Grissom asked, sitting down at his desk again.  
  
"Yes, it has been awhile, thirty two years exactly." She paused before continuing, "I've been good. I'm married, have been for twenty three years. I have two sons. Michael is twenty one and Andrew will be seventeen in December."  
  
"Congratulations"  
  
"Thank you"  
  
The two sat in somewhat uncomfortable silence when Grissom finally spoke up.  
  
"So, what can I do for you Elizabeth?"  
  
"I came here to talk to you about our daughter"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Back in the break room  
  
Sara had just finished eating her birthday cupcake that Nick had presented to her. She licked the remnants of the chocolate icing off her fingers, giving a satisfied sigh. "I take it you enjoyed your cupcake" Nick stated  
  
"Yes I did, thank you"  
  
"Again, you are very welcome"  
  
Nick leaned over to Sara and gave her a soft kiss which lasted a matter of seconds. Neither of them wanted to be caught kissing by their coworkers. They broke apart just in time. Not seconds later, Warrick and Catherine came waltzing into the break room, each of them carrying a present.  
  
"What did you guys do?" Sara said knowing right away that the presents were for her and not even giving them a chance to say hello.  
  
"Why, hello to you too Miss Sara" Catherine stated  
  
"What do you think we did Sara? We brought you your birthday gifts" Warrick said handing Sara his present, Catherine quickly followed suit, thrusting the present into Sara's open hands.  
  
Sara smiled at their kindness, "Thank you, I just hate people making a big deal about my birthday"  
  
"Why not? Birthdays are great." Warrick stated  
  
"Hey, I'm working on it man. By next year, I'm determined to have Sara here loving her birthdays" Nick said, reaching down and squeezing her hand and action not uncaught by Warrick and Catherine.  
  
"Anyone know where Grissom is? I know he also had a present for you Sara" Catherine asked  
  
"I think he's in his office, I'll go get him" Sara said and jumped up from the couch, not aware of how going to Grissom's office was going to change her life forever.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Grissom was in shock. He hadn't seen Elizabeth in over thirty years and now here she was, sitting in front of him, wanting to discuss their daughter. A daughter that was always in the back of his mind, but he tried to keep her hidden and locked away. He didn't want to have to remember her cry, holding her and then her being taken away. He didn't want to have to remember his parents deciding to up and move away. It was all too painful for him.  
  
"You want to discuss our daughter"  
  
"Yes"  
  
He took a deep breath. He knew he had to discuss this with her. They had never gotten a chance to talk about the child they had created and then been forced to give up.  
  
"Okay"  
  
It was Elizabeth's turn to take a deep breath, "I've never stopped thinking about her and I can tell by your face that you haven't either. Unfortunately, up until lately I never had the courage to track our daughter down. I found out, after years of research that she was adopted by a couple who live in San Francisco. But that was all I was able to find out via myself so I hired a private investigator. He discovered her given name, where she went to school, everything. What's worse is he discovered that her adoptive parents never informed her that she was adopted."  
  
"Okay" Grissom stated  
  
Elizabeth reached down and took out a manila envelope and handed it to Grissom.  
  
"Inside this envelope are pictures of our daughter. High school, college and current. The reason I'm here is because I have found out that she works in this building"  
  
Grissom suddenly became terrified. His worst fear, but what he had always somehow known was true, was coming true.  
  
He opened the envelope and pulled out the pictures. The pictures were upside down when they came out. He flipped the first one over and was confronted with the face of the women that he had known for years, the face of the women that he had asked to come from San Francisco. The face of Sara Sidle.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Sara walked quickly to Grissom's office. She saw him sitting at his desk with a woman sitting across from him. She was about to knock when she heard through the ajar door the words that made her stop and pause.  
  
"It's Sara" Grissom said  
  
'What about me?' Sara thought to herself  
  
"Yes, she was adopted by Alice and William Sidle of San Francisco"  
  
'Adopted? What the hell is going on?' Sara again thought  
  
"You don't look surprised" the woman stated  
  
"No, Elizabeth, I'm really not"  
  
Sara knew she should turn and leave, but she was now caught up in this conversation, a conversation that had everything to do with her.  
  
"If I may ask, why not?"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Nick was getting concerned; he knew he shouldn't be, Sara only went to go get Grissom, but something deep down inside him was urging him to go find Sara. He jumped up from the couch, ignoring the looks of Warrick and Catherine and headed for Grissom's office.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"I've know Sara for years. I first met her when she was a student at Harvard." He paused before continuing "Since, I first met her, I've somehow always known that Sara was my daughter, was our daughter" Grissom finished.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Sara couldn't breath, did Grissom just say what she think he said. She stumbled a little, knocking the door open.  
  
Elizabeth and Grissom both turned to see Sara standing there.  
  
"Sara" Grissom said standing up from his desk and heading towards her  
  
"Don't" she stated  
  
"Sara" Grissom said again. This time he was closer to her and attempted to reach out and touch her arm.  
  
Sara shrugged away, "DON'T TOUCH ME" She screamed "DON'T TOUCH ME, DON'T TOUCH ME, DON'T TOUCH ME" she continued with tears streaming down her face. She turned to run away and ran right into Nick.  
  
"Sara" Nick said concern evident in his voice.  
  
She collapsed into his chest, tears streaming down her face. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled her body close. He pulled his arms around her. He began whispering soothing words in her ear, rubbing her back and her hair.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Nick asked Grissom, he then noticed a woman now standing at the door with Grissom, "And who's that?"  
  
Before either could answer, Sara spoke up. "Nick, get me out of here, right now, get me out of here"  
  
Without even a second thought Nick answered, "Okay"  
  
Sara pulled away from him, keeping her back facing Grissom and Elizabeth. Nick turned around and put his arm around her waist and he led her out of the building, not even glancing back as everyone in that particular area of the lab watched them leave. He didn't know what just happened and what had made Sara so upset, but he was determined to take care of her. To be there for her. He had to; he's in love with her.  
  
*~*~*  
  
AN: Okay there it is the second chapter. I'm trying to decide if I should change the summery or not. Should I? I probably will, just to piss off some G/S shippers, but I'm really not in the mood for flames though. So tell me what y'all think.  
  
Brianna 


	3. Chapter 3

Truths  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them  
  
IMPORTANT: This story is AU, I doubt it will ever happen on the show. I'm just writing it for fun.  
  
Authors Note: Again, the story may be a repost but I want to thank the people who reviewed the first time, EmmyMik, drvvh, Lynn, Candace, MissForsythe, Sally, A Bloom, Krisnina77, DarthKel, pendray, PeTiTeCaT, skylark, oOoOo, Annie Lune, Spikes_storm (love the name by the way, you a Buffy fan?), Emily, SAR, ljae, Wyatt, MissyJane, River Goddes, yaba, Loretta, kiwiicepop, crazypixie and scuzmoll. To anyone else, Thank You.  
  
Caity: I respect your opinion and thank you for telling me it.  
  
Question: Does anyone know how to use the bold or italics so they will transfer to ff.net. I thought I knew how to, but it never transfers. HELP!!!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Nick quickly ushered Sara out of the building and into his Tahoe. Nick decided that going to their respective apartments right now wasn't a smart idea, so he decided to take them to Lake Mead.  
  
*Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me*  
  
*And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free*  
  
*I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you*  
  
*And at sweet night, you are my own*  
  
*Take my hand*  
  
*We're leaving here tonight*  
  
*There's no need to tell anyone*  
  
*They'd only hold us down*  
  
*So by the morning light*  
  
*We'll be halfway to anywhere*  
  
*Where love is more than just your name*  
  
Sara kept her head against the window, tears still streaming down her face. Thoughts were running rampant through her head. She noticed that Nick wasn't heading in the direction of either of their apartments. She was about to say something when she noticed a sign stating Lake Mead twenty miles. She smiled at where Nick was taking her. She loved Lake Mead, but was always so busy that she didn't get out there as often as she would like.  
  
Nick happened to turn over and look at Sara just at the moment she had a tiny smile splay across her beautiful face. His heart ached for her. He had never seen her so upset. Screaming at Grissom, crying, somewhat demanding that Nick get her out of the building. He was surprised, but he was determined to help her.  
  
*I have dreamt of a place for you and I*  
  
*No one knows who we are there*  
  
*All I want is to give my life only for you*  
  
*I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore*  
  
*Let's run away, I'll take you there*  
  
*We're leaving here tonight*  
  
*There's no need to tell anyone*  
  
*They'd only hold us down*  
  
*So by the morning light*  
  
*We'll be halfway to anywhere*  
  
*Where love is more than just your name*  
  
They rode all the way to Lake Mead in comfortable silence. Every so often Nick would reach over and squeeze her hand, giving her strength. They managed to get to Lake Mead in a decent amount of time, considering it was 7:30pm. They both exited the vehicle quietly. Sara leaned against the now closed door, while Nick walked over to her side of the vehicle. She still had tears streaming down her face. Nick pulled her tiny frame against his body and held her in a tight hug.  
  
*Forget this life*  
  
*Come with me*  
  
*Don't look back you're safe now*  
  
*Unlock your heart*  
  
*Drop your guard*  
  
*No one's left to stop you*  
  
*Forget this life*  
  
*Come with me*  
  
*Don't look back you're safe now*  
  
*Unlock your heart*  
  
*Drop your guard*  
  
*No one's left to stop you now*  
  
Eventually Sara pulled away. She gave Nick a smile, which he returned. He took her hand into his and they began walking down towards the lake. The sun had already set leaving a beautiful starry night for them to look at. They walked around the beach for awhile, just holding hands and smiling at each other every so often. Nick, no wanting to break the silence until Sara was ready to talk, motioned for them to sit down and Sara nodded. Nick sat down with his back against an extremely large boulder, Sara surprising him and sitting him between his legs. He put his arms around her and held her tightly as she leaned against him.  
  
*We're leaving here tonight*  
  
*There's no need to tell anyone*  
  
*They'd only hold us down*  
  
*So by the morning light*  
  
*We'll be halfway to anywhere*  
  
*Where love is more than just your name*  
  
*~*~*  
  
Back at the lab  
  
Catherine and Warrick had heard Sara scream and then she and Nick promptly leave the building. They waited patiently, albeit curiosity was killing them, for Grissom to make his appearance. It was now 7:30, shift technically started thirty minutes prior and they were still waiting. They didn't know what had happened but they knew that somehow Grissom was involved and that was who Sara had screamed at.  
  
"What's going on?" Greg said as he walked into the break room, oblivious to the emotionless faces of his coworkers, "Where's Nick and Sara and Grissom? Shouldn't you guys already be on your cases by now?"  
  
Catherine and Warrick shared a glance at one another. It sounded as if Greg hadn't heard the commotion that occurred in the hallway thirty minutes before.  
  
"Greg, how loud did you have your music?" Warrick asked  
  
Greg got a guilty look on his face. He knew he shouldn't be playing his music loudly, let alone at all, but sometimes he had too, it was his escape from the tediousness of his job. Not that he didn't love what he did, but he sometimes wished for more. He really wanted to gain more field experience.  
  
"Don't worry Greg" Warrick said with amusement in his voice, "I'm not gonna yell at you or tell for the matter, I was just curious"  
  
"It's just that you obviously didn't hear the commotion in the hallway earlier" Catherine quickly stated  
  
"Commotion. What commotion?" Greg asked as he finished fixing his cup of coffee.  
  
"Were not sure what happened, all we know is that Sara went to go get Grissom, then a couple of minutes later Nick got up to go find her. The next thing we hear is Sara screaming at someone, whom we assume was Grissom. Then her and Nick quickly left the building." Catherine stated  
  
"Damn, when did this happen? I missed all the good stuff."  
  
Catherine shot Greg an evil look, "Greg, this isn't to be office gossip."  
  
Warrick smirked at Catherine's eye glare, it seemed as though Greg was shrinking down in his seat.  
  
"Bro, it happened about thirty minutes ago. We're still waiting for Grissom and we haven't seen Nick and Sara since they left." Warrick stated  
  
"I wonder what happened." Greg asked  
  
"You and us both Greg, you and us both" Catherine stated  
  
"I've never seen Sara as upset as she was and I only caught a glance as she and Nick were walking by. She was definitely crying" Warrick stated.  
  
"Man, something bad happened" Greg said  
  
"Yeah, and it couldn't have come on a worse day" Catherine mumbled  
  
Warrick immediately picked up on what she meant, "Damn you're right"  
  
Greg thought for a minutes, studying his coworkers faces, and then he remembered. "Today's Sara's birthday, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah" Catherine replied  
  
"Poor Sara" Greg stated  
  
"Yeah, poor Sara. I just hope she's doing okay" Catherine said  
  
"I'm sure she's fine, she's got Nick" Warrick stated.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Grissom's office  
  
After the scene in the hallway, Grissom rushed Elizabeth and himself back into his office and made sure the door was closed all the way. They each took their chairs again, sitting in silence, contemplating what had just occurred. Neither one had wanted Sara to find out this way that they were her biological parents. Elizabeth began crying; Grissom rushed over to her and gave her a hug, which she gratefully accepted. She pulled away as her tears began to subside. Grissom smiled and went back to his chair. The two sat in silence for what seemed like hours, but was more like minutes before Elizabeth broke the silence.  
  
"Do you believe our daughter will be okay?"  
  
Grissom slowly nodded, "Sara is a strong, resilient woman. She'll be fine" Grissom said, adding "eventually" silently in his head.  
  
"I just feel so bad for her. I never wanted her to find out this way, let alone today, on her birthday of all days"  
  
"I know you didn't Elizabeth, neither did I. Like I said earlier, I've always suspected Sara was my daughter, which is why I am so overprotective of her."  
  
"If you've thought that for years, why didn't you have a paternity test done? Why didn't you tell her?" Elizabeth questioned  
  
Grissom sighed before speaking, "Because, I didn't want to disrupt her life. She had a good life Elizabeth. She had a good childhood. She had loving adoptive parents. But then I found out that they had never told her she was adopted, I couldn't spring that on her. I didn't have the heart too"  
  
"I understand, I do, but I hope you understand why I had to find her. She is a part of me. I needed to see her, to know her. I feel bad that I'm interrupting her life and changing all she has ever believed, but I also didn't ask or tell her adoptive parents to lie to her" Elizabeth stated, somehow feeling she had to defend herself.  
  
"Elizabeth, you don't have to defend yourself, I understand."  
  
"Thank you" Elizabeth stated and paused "Who was the young man that took Sara out of here? I saw her with him earlier." "That was Nick, Nick Stokes. He is her coworker. Nice man, great CSI. He's from Texas. Him and Sara are really good friends, although I think he wants more of a relationship with her than he is willing to admit right now."  
  
"You really seem to know your workers pretty well, how well do you know our daughter?"  
  
"What do you want to know about Sara?"  
  
"Everything"  
  
Grissom smiled, "How much time do you have?"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Back at Lake Mead  
  
Sara and Nick stayed sitting, his arms around her, for roughly an hour before she spoke up.  
  
"Thank you, Nick"  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For being here"  
  
"There's no where else I'd rather be"  
  
Sara smiled at his comment and at that moment decided that she wanted to share what had transpired in the hallway with him.  
  
"Nick"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Earlier, when I went to go find Grissom"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"He was in his office talking to a woman, I don't know her, but the door was ajar. I know I shouldn't have been listening but I heard my name so I stopped." She paused "It was horrible, what I heard, but it can't be true"  
  
"Sara I don't want to pry, but what happened? I've never seen you this upset before in the almost four years that we have worked together."  
  
She took a deep breath, "Grissom said that I was his daughter"  
  
"What?" Nick exclaimed  
  
"Exactly, he or the woman, I can't even remember now, but one of them said I was adopted" Sara turned around and face Nick "I don't know what their talking about. I can't be adopted. I can't be Grissom's daughter. This has to be some horrible, sick joke that someone's playing one me"  
  
Sara began to cry again and Nick pulled her into a hug and began whispering words of comfort to her.  
  
"Don't worry Sara, we'll figure this out. I promise you, we'll figure this out"  
  
Sara slightly pulled away, a somewhat confused look on her face, "We'll?"  
  
Nick smiled and leaned down and gave her a soft kiss, pulling away only moments later.  
  
"Yeah, we'll"  
  
Sara smiled and leaned her head back down on his chest. Allowing his arms to encircle her body and give her strength.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Okay, I'm gonna stop here. This has been an emotional chapter.  
  
The song is 'Anywhere' by Evanescence. It is from their 'Origin' CD. Now this CD isn't available, but I found the song on Imesh. I highly recommend y'all doing a search and finding the song, it is beautiful. 


	4. Chapter 4

Truths  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them  
  
IMPORTANT: This story is AU, I doubt it will happen in the show. I'm just writing this for fun.  
  
AN: I still want to thank the people who reviewed the first time around, Sara Sidle Stokes, CSI Rocks, SAR, Tish, missyjane, bandgeek2003, Jaded Unmotivated Darkflame, Loretta, spikes_storm, oOoOo, Pam, Nikkd03, Skylar, river goddess, pendray, bex, darth kel, lyn, nicksarafan, scuzmolly, emmymik, petitecat, RK9, jhfortier, CSI 424, krisnina77 and Melissa. To anyone else, Thank You.  
  
Anti N/S: I truly respect your opinion and I thank you for telling me.  
  
Also, I don't know anything about the Grissom and Sara relationship. What I mean is like how they met? I am assuming that it was when she was in college, although I'm pretty sure the show has yet to cover this. (Although I believe they will be possibly answering this question next season). So just give me some leeway when it comes to how they met.  
  
Oh, I fixed the mistake I made about her being a vegetarian. I put Warrick by accident but people told me that it was Grissom. So I fixed it.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lake Mead  
  
Sara and Nick sat together for a long time, just holding each other. Nick enjoyed their closeness. They spoke about work, about their cases, about anything and everything but the pressing issue on hand. Nick knew that it was on Sara's mind, but he also knew that she would talk more about it when she was ready too; he wasn't going to push her.  
  
"Nick"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"I've decided something, well a few things" Sara said turning to face him.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"First, I need to go to San Francisco and talk to my parents. I need to find out the truth from them."  
  
"That's a good idea"  
  
"Secondly, I want you to come with me."  
  
Nick sighed, "Sara are you sure? This might be something that you need to do alone. I don't want to intrude"  
  
Sara nodded and paused before speaking, "I need you to be with me. I don't think I can confront my parents alone. Please.please."  
  
Nick pulled her into a hug, "Of course I'll come with you Sara. I just wanted you to be sure"  
  
Sara pulled away from Nick, "I think we better be heading back"  
  
"Are you sure?" Nick asked "I don't want you to be going home or to work if you're not ready too"  
  
Sara smiled at his concern and stood up. "Well first off, I'm not wanting to go back to work at this present moment and I honestly can't say when I'll be ready."  
  
"I understand Sara, believe it or not I do"  
  
"I know you do"  
  
Sara reached out her arm and helped Nick up and the two began walking back to his Tahoe, hand in hand.  
  
"So you don't want to go back to work, where do you want to go?"  
  
"To the airport" Sara stated firmly.  
  
*~*~*  
  
At the lab  
  
Before speaking to Elizabeth, Grissom left to give Warrick and Catherine assignments. He knew by the looks on their faces that they were curious to what was going on, but they were professional enough to not ask questions. Grissom then decided that speaking to Elizabeth about Sara might not be the best thing to do in his office. He informed the receptionist, along with Greg, Catherine and Warrick that he would be out of the office and to call him on his cell phone.  
  
He took Elizabeth to a little diner that was about a block away from the lab. Close enough to get back quickly if a problem arose, but far enough away for the conversation they were about to have not become office gossip like he was sure their earlier conversation would eventually become once Sara returned to work.  
  
He knew he should be mad at Sara and Nick for just taking off, but he also knew that he brought this upon himself. He should have told Sara sooner. He always had a fear that Elizabeth would someday just suddenly come back into the picture.  
  
Once at the diner they both just ordered coffees.  
  
"So when did you first meet Sara?" Elizabeth asked  
  
"I met her when she was a senior at Harvard. I was doing a guest lecture. I remember when I first saw her, I was kind of surprised"  
  
"Surprised?"  
  
"Yeah, because she looked so much like you, when you were younger. It was uncanny the resemblance. After the lecture was over she came down and we spoke for about twenty minutes. Sara had mentioned that she wanted to go to graduate school and that she wanted to become a CSI. I mentioned that I was one and we exchanged contact information. We kept in touch. She let me know how she was doing in school; I spoke to her about the job and some of the coworkers." Grissom paused to take a sip of his coffee, "After she completed her Masters she received a great job offer with the San Francisco crime lab. She was excited to take the position because she loved living in San Francisco. Her parents and brother were there and she missed them."  
  
"So how did she come to end up here in Las Vegas?"  
  
"Almost four years ago a young woman by the name of Holly Gribbs was killed at a crime scene. Holly was new to the graveyard CSI team. A coworker of hers, Warrick Brown was to be shadowing Holly. Not using very good judgment, he left the scene and Holly was killed. Knowing that we were down a CSI and knowing that I didn't want internal affairs involved I called Sara from San Francisco and asked her to come. She did and she actually did an investigation on Warrick's involvement."  
  
Elizabeth took a deep breath, processing the amount of information she had just received.  
  
Grissom allowed her to process before he continued, "Warrick is still a member of the team, and he and Sara are best friends now. Along with her and Nick."  
  
Elizabeth smiled, it sounded like her daughter was well liked and appreciated at her job.  
  
"Well, what can you tell me about her other than work?"  
  
"That's it; Sara spends most of her time at work. She uses her overtime rather quickly. Nick has encouraged her on more than occasion to get out more"  
  
Elizabeth laughed at the comment  
  
"She's a vegetarian. Became one after she and I had to sit outside and watch a decomposing pig gather bugs and fly's on it for a case."  
  
"I'd probably become one too, that sounds disgusting"  
  
"It's amazing the things you see in our line of work"  
  
"So, does she have a boyfriend, had one?"  
  
"She dated an EMT by the name of Hank off and on for about a year, but in March she found out that he actually had a steady girlfriend and was using Sara to cheat on her."  
  
Elizabeth became angry at the information presented to her, "What an ass"  
  
Grissom laughed, "Yeah I think that sums up Hank. I think we were all ready to pounce on him for treating Sara that way"  
  
"Whose we?"  
  
"Well I, Warrick even Catherine."  
  
"What about Nick?" Elizabeth asked  
  
"If he knew he wouldn't lose his job, Nick would have beaten the shit out of him. That was when I first realized that Nick was developing more romantic feelings for her, but."Grissom trailed off  
  
"But what?"  
  
Grissom sighed, "This is really hard to say, but Sara had romantic feelings for me. I think it came out of all the attention and over protectiveness that I placed upon her. It came to a head back in May"  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Well, there was an explosion in the lab and Sara was injured. At the end of the day she asked me out to dinner, I turned her down. Of course she didn't know at the time why I turned her down, my suspicions, all she knew was that someone she assumed cared about her in a romantic fashion turned her down. I felt so horrible, I started thinking more about doing the paternity test at the time, but.I don't know I was too chicken to find out"  
  
"Gil, it's not your fault that Sara developed these feelings. You can't change the past, what's done is done, god knows. All you can do is move on from it."  
  
"I know, I just can't imagine how hard this is going to be for Sara to accept"  
  
"But you stated earlier that she is a strong woman"  
  
"And she is, but my fatherly instincts are coming into play also"  
  
"Listen, you can't blame yourself for what happened in May, you can't even blame yourself for what happened tonight." Elizabeth stated. "Plus she's with Nick right now"  
  
"That's true, if anyone can help her, its Nick"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lake Mead  
  
Nick's Tahoe  
  
"You wanna go to the airport?" Nick said somewhat confused  
  
"Yeah. I want to be on the next available flight to San Francisco"  
  
Nick nodded, unlocked the Tahoe and the two jumped in.  
  
"Why don't you call the airlines and book us a flight out, I'll head to my place first, grab some stuff and then we'll stop at your apartment"  
  
"That's fine" Sara replied and pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket.  
  
While Sara was on the phone to the airlines, Nick grabbed his hands free piece from his glove box. He knew that Grissom needed to be aware that they were leaving town for awhile.  
  
He put the piece in his ear and punched five on his cell, instantly connecting him.  
  
"Hello Grissom, yeah it's Nick. Yeah Sara's with me. She's fine for now. That's actually why I'm calling. Sara and I are flying to San Francisco. Yeah she told me. I understand. I know I'm not giving you enough notice, but I'm going with her. I'll call you when we get in and once I have an idea how long we'll be. Okay. Talk to you later."  
  
"What did Grissom say?" Sara whispered  
  
Nick looked over at her, he wasn't aware that she had finished up her phone call.  
  
"Not much. He okayed the time off, which actually didn't surprise me, I figured he would. He then asked me if you had told me what you'd heard and I said yes. He then just asked me to call when we got in, which I agreed to do"  
  
"Oh"  
  
Nick, knowing he needed to change the subject, quickly spoke up "So were you able to get us a flight out?"  
  
"Yeah, the soonest one was for 11:45"  
  
Nick looked at his clock; it was flashing 9:30. "Okay, we'll just have to be quick then. I'll just grab my carry on bag, it's not like San Francisco doesn't have stores if I forget something"  
  
They reached Nick's apartment in record time, he quickly grabbed his bag and threw some clothing in it and some toiletries. They then headed for Sara's and she did the same. They made it to the airport by 10:15, but waiting for the shuttle to take them to the terminal took some time. They made it to their gate by 10:45, thankful that security didn't take long and also thankful they had assigned seats.  
  
During the intervening time before they boarded the flight, they sat in silence, holding each other's hands. Each thinking about the events that were going to occur once they reached San Francisco. *~*~*  
  
After Grissom spoke to Nick, he and Elizabeth quickly left the diner. He explained briefly what was going on. Elizabeth nodded and stated she would talk to him later. She gave him her cell phone number and headed to her motel while he headed back to the crime lab.  
  
Once back at the lab he saw that Warrick and Catherine were sitting in the break room discussing their case.  
  
"Hello" Grissom said and the two looked up and over to him "could you two come to my office, I need to speak to you about something"  
  
They nodded and silently followed him out. Once inside his office Grissom indicted for them to take the two chairs while he remained standing.  
  
"I know that you two are curious about what transpired earlier this evening, I'm sure you're also concerned for Nick and Sara, mostly Sara"  
  
They nodded, allowing him to continue.  
  
"I'm going to make this very brief, but I don't want this to become office gossip, understand?"  
  
"You got it boss" Warrick said  
  
"I understand Griss" Catherine replied  
  
Grissom took a deep breath and explained to them about Elizabeth, her getting pregnant and them being forced to put the baby up for adoption and that the baby was Sara. He explained that he had had an idea for awhile that she was his daughter but didn't do anything about it; he was just overprotective of her. Once he finished, both Catherine and Warrick had blank expressions on their faces. They had a variety of thoughts floating through their brains. They each felt bad for Sara, but their hearts also went out to Grissom and Elizabeth.  
  
"So that was why Sara was screaming" Warrick stated  
  
"Yeah" Grissom whispered  
  
"So, do we know where Sara and Nick are?" Catherine asked  
  
"I got a call from Nick about thirty minutes ago. He and Sara are taking a flight out to San Francisco tonight. Their probably at the airport right now." He paused "So with them gone, I'm going to get some people from day shift to cover, okay"  
  
"Yeah" the replied simultaneously.  
  
Knowing that this was the end of the conversation, Warrick got up and left, leaving Catherine in the room.  
  
"Cath, you should get back to work" Grissom said  
  
"Are you sure you're doing okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm just worried about Sara"  
  
"She'll be fine, but this is going to take her sometime. She needs to understand why her parents lied to her and never told she was adopted? She then needs to understand why you and Elizabeth gave her up? Why you guys didn't try to find her later? Why now after all these years? She is going to have a lot of questions that you, Elizabeth and her parents have to answer for her. None of this will happen overnight, and I'm sure she will resent you, Elizabeth and her parents for awhile, but Sara has an immense capability to forgive. Don't sell her short, just give her time"  
  
With that Catherine stood up and gave Grissom a hug and a light peek on the check.  
  
"Just give her time" she stated one last time and left the office, leaving Grissom to contemplate what she had just said to him.  
  
*~*~*  
  
San Francisco International Airport  
  
By the time their plane landed it was close to two am. Both were extremely exhausted. As quickly as they could, they exited the plane and headed down to the rental car agencies. Nick randomly picked one and got them a rental car. As they left the airport, Nick spoke up.  
  
"The first hotel I see, I'm getting us a room. No arguments, we're both tired and you should talk to your parents during the day, after you've had some rest"  
  
Sara looked over at him and smiled, she was actually about to argue with him, but saw his jaw firmly set and decided against it. Whether she wanted to admit it or not he was right. She was tired.  
  
As they were driving, the first hotel Nick spotted was a Marriott. He quickly pulled into the parking lot and parked the rental. They both exited the vehicle and headed inside.  
  
"Hello, welcome to the Marriott" the over-energetic counter agent stated  
  
"Hi, we need to get a room for the night" The young woman began typing in her computer seeing what was available for the night.  
  
"Okay, we have a single."  
  
"That's fine, we'll take it" Nick said interrupting her and thrusting his credit card to her.  
  
The woman nodded and gladly took his credit card. Nick signed the receipt, while the woman got their keys ready.  
  
"Okay, here are your keys. Your room is number 504. Elevators are behind you. Check out is eleven am. If you need anything, just press zero on your phone"  
  
"Thank you" Sara said taking the two keys.  
  
They headed to their room in silence, once there Sara unlocked the door and Nick held it open. It was a decent size room, TV, dresser, desk, chair and a king size bed. Being that they were so tired, neither one cared about the other being in the room. They both quickly stripped off their clothing. Nick decided to just sleep in his boxers and Sara put on t shirt. They both quickly climbed into bed.  
  
Needing to feel close to Nick, Sara rolled over and laid her head on his chest, she then pulled his arms around her body. Nick was surprised by her movements, but it wasn't unwelcome. Within moments her breathing had evened out and she was asleep. Nick watched her for awhile before his eyes closed and he to was asleep.  
  
*~*~* 


	5. Chapter 5

Truths  
  
Chapter five  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them  
  
IMPORTANT: This story is AU and I highly doubt it will ever happen on the show. I'm just writing this for pure entertainment purposes.  
  
AN:  
  
One thing to mention, I think Sara's parents live in Tamales Bay. Okay, I have no idea where that is in California. I'm assuming somewhere near San Francisco. For the sake of the story and my sanity, assume her parents live in San Fran. I'm just basing it off that cause she came from the San Francisco lab.  
  
Again, I want to make sure to thank all the people who reviewed the first time: River goddess, Sara Sidle Stokes, Countryfreak77, PeTiTeCaT, Pendray, Joey Des Anges, Jhfortier, sisterbear, annie lune, emmymik, csi freak03, A bloom, Oceanwave, MissyJane, RK9 (I'm not sure if their hippies or not, just assume their hippies who adopted), Krisnina77, spikes_storm, sprinkle143 and mercy. Thank you. To everyone else, Thank you.  
  
Caity: Thank you for responding. Everything's cool.  
  
Grissoms Girl: I respect your opinion and I do thank you for letting me know it.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Nick awoke at 10:45am, Sara was still sound asleep, her head on his chest. Knowing that she was exhausted and needed more time to sleep he reached over and grabbed the phone, pressing zero on it.  
  
"Hello" a male voice answered  
  
"Hi, I'm in room 504 and we were originally supposed to check out today at 11am, would it be at all possible to get the room for another night."  
  
"Let me check the computer sir, but I don't think it should be a problem"  
  
"Thanks"  
  
After a few moments the man came back on the line, "that should be fine sir, I'll book the room for another night, but if you know that you won't be checking out tomorrow, let us know at least by 5pm tonight so that we can rebook the room for as long as you need"  
  
"Okay and thank you" Nick said and hung up the phone. He looked down at Sara and saw that she hadn't even flinched.  
  
'She looks so beautiful when she sleeps' Nick thought. He pulled her body closer and began stroking her hair, eventually he fell back to sleep.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Sara awoke from a very peaceful and restful sleep as she slowly opened her eyes she stared at Nick. She couldn't quite grasp that he was so willing to just jump on a plane and come to San Francisco with her. No one had ever done something so drastic for her. Her finger began drawing patterns on his bare chest and she just laid there and memorized his features. She had always had feelings for Nick, since she first met him. She was just to preoccupied with her infatuation with Grissom. Plus she was scared to persue a relationship with Nick, purely based off of Greg's playboy stories. She was so preoccupied in her thoughts that she didn't notice Nick wake up.  
  
"Hey" he whispered  
  
She looked up and smiled, "Hey"  
  
"Sleep well?"  
  
"Extremely, you?"  
  
"No complaints"  
  
Sara sighed and looked over at the clock and saw that it was blinking 2:30. She leaned up a little with a concerned look on her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Nick asked noticing her face  
  
"Nick, we were supposed to check out at eleven, it's now two thirty"  
  
"We're fine. I called the front desk earlier and asked them to book the room for another night. They just asked me to let them know by five tonight if we were going to stay here longer than tonight"  
  
"It doesn't matter to me, my parents place is about twenty minutes from here"  
  
"Okay, when we leave to go talk to your parents, I'll have them book the room for another night"  
  
Sara laid her head back down on Nick's chest and let out a loud sigh.  
  
"Your worried about talking to your parents aren't you?" Nick asked  
  
"Yeah. I'm kind of scared, which isn't normal for me"  
  
"Sara you're only human and this is going to be an extremely emotional conversation that you're going to have today"  
  
"I know, I just." she trailed off  
  
"Don't worry. I'll be with you the entire time. You'll be okay" Nick said, kissing the top of her head.  
  
"Thanks Nick"  
  
"Your welcome"  
  
They lay in bed just enjoying the feel of holding each other for about another half hour before Nick insisted that they should get up and get dressed. Sara finally agreed when Nick began to tickle her. She took a relaxing shower and exited with a towel wrapped around her body and her hair.  
  
"Your turn"  
  
Nick smiled at her, which caused her to blush, "oh Miss Sidle, you seem to be blushing" he teased.  
  
"Oh go take your shower" she replied with a hint of amusement in her voice.  
  
He nodded and headed into the bathroom, leaving Sara in private. She turned on the TV to watch the news and check out the weather. Even though it was only mid September, San Francisco weather was much cooler than Las Vegas. She dressed in a pair of low rise boot cut jeans, a white fitted shirt and she would wear her leather jacket. She was putting on her socks when Nick exited the bathroom, a towel slung low around his hips.  
  
Without even thinking she blurted out, "well this is something I could get used to seeing everyday"  
  
'Oh she didn't just say that' Nick thought 'but she did'  
  
Sara put her hands over her face in complete embarrassment, "holy shit, I said that out loud. Oh my god." She quickly stood up "I'm gonna go in the bathroom and wait for you to get dressed" she said rushing past him and slamming the bathroom door shut. Once in the bathroom she sat down on the toilet and took some deep breaths to control her breathing.  
  
"Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that" she whispered to herself  
  
Nick knocked on the door once he was dressed in his jeans and black ribbed shirt. "Sara I'm dressed you can come out now"  
  
With that said, he went back and sat down on the bed and watched the news. After a few moments he realized Sara still hadn't emerged from the bathroom. He went back over to the door and gently knocked on it.  
  
"Sara are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Well you can come out now"  
  
"No"  
  
"Okay, why not?"  
  
He waited for a moment for her to respond, when she didn't he tried the door knob to see if it was locked, when he found it wasn't he entered the bathroom and found Sara sitting on the toilet with her head in her hands. He went over to her and kneeled down in front of her.  
  
"Sara"  
  
"What" came her mumbled response  
  
"What's wrong? I've never seen you behave this way"  
  
She looked up and him, her eyes still filled with embarrassment and even fear.  
  
"It's just that."  
  
"It's just that what?" he gently asked  
  
"I'm just embarrassed for saying that. I just don't want.."  
  
"You don't want what?"  
  
"I don't want you to think that I'm saying these things or doing these things out of comfort and that I need your pity, because I don't. I don't want you thinking that I'm just using you. I'm not. I want you and I need you." Sara said, somewhat relieved that her true feelings were out in the open.  
  
Nick leaned up and captured her mouth in a chaste kiss, he then pulled her body to his in a firm hug.  
  
"Sara, I would never think that you were using me. Never. I care about you so much, Sara."  
  
She smiled and leaned down and they kissed again. She broke the kiss moments later.  
  
"Thank you for understanding"  
  
"Your welcome"  
  
He stood up and pulled her up with him. He put his arm around her shoulder and they exited the bathroom.  
  
"I just need to put my shoes on and then we can go" Sara said sitting on the bed and grabbing her boots, "but I'm hungry, so we need to find a place to eat before we visit my parents"  
  
"Okay, I'm sure I can arrange that"  
  
Nick sat down on the bed and put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her body close to his.  
  
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you, no matter what happens today with your parents, okay?"  
  
She turned and looked at him, "Thank you. Let's get out of here and go get some food"  
  
With that, both jumped off the bed and headed out of the room. Sara somewhat mentally prepared for what was to come later in the day and Nick ready to be there for her.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
After a late lunch, they headed to Sara's parents Bed and Breakfast. With a slight amount of traffic, they reached the home at around 6:30pm. Nick parked the car in front of the house. It was a beautiful white house that reminded him of the Victorian era. Two stories, lots of windows and a huge front porch.  
  
They sat in the car for a few moments. Nick reached over and squeezed her hand offering his encouragement. She looked over and smiled.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Alice and William Sidle had just sat down to their dinner when a knock came to their front door. Alice quickly stood and went to the front door.  
  
"Hello" she said as she opened the door, she was surprised to see the face of her daughter on the other side, "Sara, honey, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Alice said with surprise and alarm in her voice.  
  
"Hi.mom. Can we come in?" Sara said motioning to herself and Nick.  
  
"Yes, please" Alice said opening the door all the way and letting the two enter the house.  
  
"Where's dad?" Sara asked, somewhat hesitant on using the word 'dad'.  
  
"He's in the dining room, I'll go get him" Alice quickly left the room, leaving Sara and Nick alone.  
  
Keeping Nick's hand in hers, she began giving him a mini tour of the house. "This is the living room, back to the left is the master bedroom to the right is the dining room and kitchen. Then there are four bedrooms upstairs and the attic. They converted the attic to a bedroom, so it was actually my room when I was still living at home. Now I'm pretty sure it's storage"  
  
Nick began looking at all the pictures on the wall, most were of Sara and he was assuming her brother, Josh.  
  
"That's your brother" Nick asked pointing to a picture  
  
"Yeah" Sara whispered  
  
Nick put his arm around her, "it's going to work out Sara, I promise you"  
  
Before she could respond, they heard her parents coming into the living room.  
  
"Sara, sweetheart, what are you doing here?" her father asked, pulling her into a hug. Sara was somewhat uncomfortable, but returned it.  
  
"Can we just sit down, I need to talk to you guys about something"  
  
"Uh, yeah, sure" Alice said and motioned for them to sit. Sara and Nick took the couch, while Alice and William took chairs opposite of the couch.  
  
They sat in silence for a couple of moments before Alice interrupted it, "So Sara who is your friend?"  
  
"This is Nick. I work with him in Vegas. Nick, my." she paused quickly "my parents, Alice and William Sidle"  
  
"It's nice to meet y'all" he replied, his accent touching through  
  
"So where you from Nick?" William asked  
  
"I'm from Texas, all my families still there"  
  
"That's nice"  
  
"So are you and Sara dating" Alice piped up  
  
"Yes. Yes we are" Nick stated without thinking. When he realized what he had done he glanced at Sara and he saw what could only be described as relief in her face. He then realized that she was relieved that she didn't have to explain why she brought him with her when she had such an important conversation ahead of her. A friend is one thing, a boyfriend was something else entirely.  
  
Her parents continued to ask Nick about Texas and their relationship. Nick answered the questions truthfully. He knew that Sara was building up her courage. He knew that even though she is an incredibly strong woman, this situation had thrown her for a loop. Finally, after about ten minutes of her parents grilling Nick, Sara spoke up.  
  
"Mom, dad, why did you lie to me?"  
  
Her parents exchanged glances before her father answered, "lie to you about what sweetie"  
  
"About being adopted?"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Sorry to end it right here, but I just thought that I needed a good ending spot.  
  
Brianna 


	6. Chapter 6

Truths  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them  
  
IMPORTANT: This story is completely AU, I doubt it will ever happen on the show. I'm just writing this for fun.  
  
AN:  
  
I want to thank the people who reviewed the first time. Scuzmoll, buzzy, Melissa, RK9, LissaMarie, MissyJane, Krisnina77, SaxophoneForensicsChic05, Bex3, oOoOo, Lilybelle80538, Annie Lune, Jhfortier ang Megan. I also want to thank anyone else who reviews. Thank you.  
  
One final thing, I know that in One Hit Wonder Sara mentions that she has a brother. I don't recall if she said older or younger, but for the sake of this story, he's younger. Just wanted to let y'all know.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Mom, dad, why did you lie to me?"  
  
Her parents exchanged glances before her father answered, "lie to you about what sweetie"  
  
"About being adopted?"  
  
The air seemed to drain from the room. Her parents became pale and silent. Nick could tell from their faces that they never expected Sara to ever find out she wasn't their biological child. He saw surprise and even fear in their faces.  
  
"I'm waiting for an answer" Sara spoke up  
  
Her parents looked at her, Nick and then back at each other. Not quite sure on how they should handle the question in front of them.  
  
"I WANT AN ANSWER NOW!!!!" Sara screamed "I DESERVE AN ANSWER"  
  
Nick took Sara's hand into his own and squeezed it, hoping to somehow transfer strength and calmness into her.  
  
"Sara there is no need to scream" her father stated  
  
"Then answer the damn question. WHY. DID. YOU. LIE. TO. ME?" Sara said, enunciating her question.  
  
Alice took a deep breath, "how did you find out?" she asked Sara.  
  
"It really doesn't matter how I found out right now, what matters is why you lied to me? I'm thirty two. I deserved to know this." Sara stated somewhat cruelly to her parents. "I understand not telling me as a child. But you two most certainly should have told me when I was at an age to understand. When I was a teenager, before I left for college. There were many times you could have told me, yet you didn't. And I want and deserve to know why?"  
  
"You're right Sara, we should have told you." Her father stated  
  
"You know that I love you, but I want answers. Right now." Sara stated starting to lose her patience again.  
  
"Okay, your mother and I had been married for some time when." William started and then was interrupted by Alice.  
  
"William, I'd like to tell Sara if that's okay?"  
  
William nodded and she began, "We had been married for about two years when we tried to conceive. We weren't able too. The doctors couldn't give a definitive reason to why we couldn't conceive, we just couldn't. We finally decided to adopt. We went to a private agency her in San Francisco. They told us of a young teenage mother who was due to give birth in about a five months time. The girls parents decided to put the baby up for adoption. They also wanted it to be a closed adoption. Which meant we didn't find out anything about your biological parents. We just knew they were teenagers. That was it. We expressed an interest and the agency sent the girls parents our information and after a couple of months we were selected to adopt you. When the young woman went into labor the agency called us and told us where to go. We went to the hospital, picked you up and brought you home. Never once seeing your birth parents."  
  
"I get this, I do, but it doesn't explain why you never told me I was adopted?" Sara stated  
  
"We didn't want you to feel any different" her father stated  
  
"Different about what?"  
  
"Your brother"  
  
Suddenly it sank in. Josh was their biological child. Josh was only a year younger than her, so she never thought anything of it. It also explained why she always felt like she was somehow out of the loop, like she was a fourth wheel. It all made perfect sense now and she hated it. Hated that because of her feelings on inadequacy as a child led to her zen social life. Sara's face dropped as she became haunted by memories of her childhood, memories that she had tried to repress. She then did something she had never done before in front of her parents, she began crying. Nick immediately took her into his arms and pulled her quivering body close to his.  
  
Her mother immediately jumped up to comfort her daughter but she halted her movements when Nick gave her a death look. A look that said, 'she is in enough pain, I'll take care of her'.  
  
During the intervening time, William got up and went to his study. He had kept all the paperwork given to them on Sara's adoption. He grabbed everything they had and went back to the living room. He handed the manila envelope to Nick.  
  
"This is everything we ever received for her adoption. Maybe it will help" William said and exited the room. Leaving his daughter to cry in the arms of her boyfriend.  
  
*~*~*  
  
William found Alice upstairs in the attic, which was Sara's old bedroom. She was sitting on Sara's old bed, holding a stuffed animal.  
  
"Alice. What are you doing up here?"  
  
"You were right, all those years ago. You were right." Alice said through her tears.  
  
William moved to the bed and took Alice in his arms, "Shh. Yes, we should have told Sara sooner, but we can't change the past. All we can do is give her the answers and the space she needs"  
  
William continued to hold his wife until her tears began to subside. All the while worried about his daughter.  
  
*~*~*  
  
After awhile Sara pulled away from Nick. Her eyes red from crying and tear stains down her beautiful cheeks.  
  
"Thank you Nick" she whispered  
  
"You are more than welcome. Anything I can do to help you Sara, I will"  
  
"I know" she paused "I feel so.so.alone"  
  
He pulled her body back to his for a hug, "Sara you're not alone, you never will be. You will always have me. Always" "I believe you Nick. I just feel like I don't have a family. My parents lied to me. About being adopted about Josh being their biological child. When I was younger I always felt so left out, now I realize why I felt left out. I just felt that my parents didn't love me the same way they loved Josh"  
  
"Sara don't think that way. I may have just met your parents, but I can see that they love you. Remember you are the oldest, oldest children tend to get treated differently whether the parents intend to or not. My oldest sister got blamed for so much and got in trouble for so much, but I didn't because I was the baby"  
  
Sara smiled at his confession  
  
"I know my parents love me. I do. It just is so confusing. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. Part of me feels like their not my parents, but another part of me does because they raised me"  
  
"Sara, they will always be your parents, because they did raise you. You are their daughter."  
  
"But what about Grissom and Elizabeth?"  
  
"Sara, you don't know any more than I do about Grissom and Elizabeth's situation. But just by doing the math, they were babies themselves. Grissom was only fifteen when you were born. What kind of parents could fifteen year olds really have been to you? Again, I don't if they chose to put up for adoption or if their parents forced them, but they did what they thought was best for you. For you to have the life you deserved. Yes, you want answers and god knows you deserve those answers." Nick stated and paused "You don't have to choose between your parents and Grissom and Elizabeth. You can have them all"  
  
They sat there, holding each other in silence. It was broken though about twenty minutes later when her parents reentered the room. When Sara saw her parents come in, she pulled away from Nick and stood, he quickly followed suit.  
  
"How is everything in here?" her father asked tentavely  
  
"Look, I love you guys. But this is going to take me some time. I hope you can understand that"  
  
"We do sweetie, we do" her mother stated  
  
"I'm glad" Sara paused "I think we should leave. I just want to leave right now. We'll be in town for a couple days. Um.how bout we meet for dinner tomorrow night?"  
  
"Okay, that will be fine" Her father stated  
  
Sara walked over and gave her parents hugs, she then quickly left the house, deciding to wait for Nick at the car.  
  
"She'll be okay. I just want you both to know that" Nick stated  
  
"I know she will. I'm just glad she has you. I can tell you care about her a great deal" Alice stated and gave Nick a hug, which surprised him. "Have a safe drive back to your hotel" She said and left the room.  
  
"Sara didn't bring her cell phone, so let me leave you mine, so you can get a hold of us" Nick stated.  
  
"Thank you"  
  
Nick quickly wrote down his cell phone number. He then shook Mr. Sidles hand and told him he would see him tomorrow. He then left the house. He quickly unlocked the car and they both got in. He slowly pulled away from the bed and breakfast and drove them back to their hotel.  
  
*~*~*  
  
AN: Sorry this chapter is so short. I just wanted it to be completely devoted to Sara and her parents. 


	7. chapter 7

Truths  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them.  
  
IMPORTANT: This story is completely AU. I highly doubt it will ever happen on the show. I'm just writing this for fun.  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
First I want to thank people who reviewed chapter 6 the first time. Thank you to Annie Lune, Jhfortier, CC, Melissa, Bex3, SAR, River Goddess, cRaZyPiXiE, Wyatt1, CSI424, MissyJane, EmmyMik, Kirby Doggett & Spikes_storm.  
  
Secondly, I want to thank the people who reviewed my story again after the repost. Stokes-CSI3, Loretta, Sisterbear, EmmyMik, oOoOo, MissyJane, River Goddess, Ireland1, Petitecat, Illman, Lynn15, Lynn Morgan, Jhfortier and nepeace. Thank you guys so much. It means a lot to me that you reviewed again.  
  
Finally, does anyone know how to make the bold work correctly so that it will show up on ff.net? I thought I knew how to do it, but it never shows up. Please help!!!!  
  
*~*~*  
  
*Remember all the times that we used to play*  
  
*You were lost and I would save you*  
  
*I don't think these feelings will ever fade*  
  
*You were born a part of me*  
  
*I was never good at hiding anything*  
  
*My thoughts break me*  
  
*Do you understand what you do to me*  
  
*You are my faith*  
  
That evening Nick and Sara met her parents for dinner and talked some. Nick gave Sara the file her father had handed him. The knowledge that the parents that she thought for thirty two years were her birth parents, when in fact they weren't was finally sinking in. Nick supported her the entire time. Some hours she was fine, the next she was a complete wreck, sobs controlling her body, tears streaming down her face.  
  
During the intervening time, they began talking more and more. Sara told Nick even more of her insecurities and fears. Nick shared his, including his molestation at nine years old. He actually felt relieved getting it off his chest and telling her.  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*Don't take her smile away from me*  
  
*She's broken and I'm far away*  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*If you make the world a stage for me*  
  
*Then I hope that you can hear me scream*  
  
*Cure my tragedy*  
  
Nick also called Grissom. He let him know that Sara had her good moments and bad moments. He didn't know when they would be heading back. Grissom actually gave Nick his blessing to take their time. Nick was surprised, but sometimes Grissom tended to surprise him.  
  
Now here he was sitting in the hotel room, contemplating. It was seven thirty and he was wide awake. He awoke to Sara leaving the room, but he didn't have a chance to find out where she was going. He assumed that she was heading down to get some breakfast. The time Nick was spending with Sara caused him to evaluate his feelings towards her. He always thought of her as one of his best friends, but this situation seemed to bring them closer. He thought about the kiss they shared on her birthday, which was only 3 days prior. God, how things had drastically and dramatically changed. All he knew was that he would be there for Sara. He also realized that he was falling in love with her. Hard and fast. But he didn't want to say anything. Now wasn't the time. She was dealing with enough shit; she didn't need his newfound love for her added on top of everything.  
  
*When I sit and think of the days we shared*  
  
*And the nights you covered for me*  
  
*Every little thing that I ever did*  
  
*You would stand by me*  
  
*Everytime you cried it would take my wind*  
  
*My heart would break*  
  
*If I could be strong like you were for me*  
  
*You are my faith*  
  
Nick was pulled out of his thoughts with Sara returning to the room.  
  
"Nicky"  
  
"Hey Sar. Did you go get some breakfast?"  
  
"Yeah. I just had a bowl of cornflakes and an orange"  
  
Sara walked over and sat next to him on the bed. She observed his demeanor. He was still in his boxers and shirt, it looked like he had been up for awhile but hadn't moved from bed yet.  
  
"Nicky, are you okay?"  
  
Nick got a confused look on his face, "yeah why?"  
  
"Well you look completely awake but you're not dressed yet"  
  
"I've just been thinking"  
  
By his tone, Sara decided not to push him.  
  
"I've made a decision" she suddenly stated  
  
"About what?"  
  
"I've decided that we should head back, but.."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"I don't want to fly" "Sara how do you propose that we get back to Vegas then"  
  
"Well, I checked into this yesterday and I was thinking we could just take our rental car. I talked to the company and they said for an additional fifty dollars we could return it to their Las Vegas office. I mean obviously we have to pay for more days and I was thinking we should make sure we have unlimited gas mileage." She finished up, her eyes pleading to Nick.  
  
Nick looked into her eyes. He then realized that Sara didn't want to stay in California anymore, but she also wasn't ready to be back in Vegas.  
  
"Okay Sara"  
  
Sara wrapped her arms around Nick and pulled his body to hers in a tight hug. "Thank you Nicky" she whispered in his ear.  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*Don't take her smile away from me*  
  
*She's broken and I'm far away*  
  
*If you make the world a stage for me*  
  
*Then I hope that you can hear me scream*  
  
Nick pulled away from Sara.  
  
"We better start packing then, so we can check out today" He stated  
  
"Okay. I'll pack, why don't you go take a shower"  
  
He nodded and stood up. Sara also stood and began pulling clothing out of the dresser while Nick headed towards the bathroom.  
  
Inside the shower, Nick was once again lost in his thoughts. He knew the drive back to Vegas would be long. San Francisco was about eight hours from Los Angeles and L.A. was bout three hours from Vegas. They could do it in a day if they had too, but he had a feeling that Sara would want to dawdle and take her time. He couldn't blame her though. He wasn't sure though how he would be able to handle spending another couple of days with Sara and not express his love for her. Would he be able to?  
  
*Can you hear me scream*  
  
Sara heard the shower start and immediately sat down on the bed. She was so confused. For the longest time she thought she was in love with Grissom. 'God that was stupid' she thought to herself. Now, here she was with Nick. Nick, the person who instantly welcomed her to the fold as soon as she got to Vegas. Nick the person she considered to be one of her best friends. She had always had a crush on Nick, but all she did was blatantly flirt with him.  
  
He's been there for her. He came to San Francisco with her to confront her parents. He got her out of the crime lab when she found out Grissom's lies. He was her rock.  
  
She was slowly starting to realize that wasn't all he was to her. She was developing very strong and very deep feelings for the Texan.  
  
*Can you hear me scream*  
  
She heard the shower turn off and quickly collected herself and began setting to work of packing the clothing again.  
  
Nick came out of the bathroom, wearing just a towel slung low on his hips. When Sara saw this she lost the ability to speak. Nick smiled at her inability to form a coherent sentence. He quickly grabbed his clothing and headed back to the bathroom, relieving her of her misery.  
  
As soon as Nick got into the bathroom, his cell phone rang. Sara searched the room for it and found it on his side of the bed.  
  
"Hello" she stated  
  
"Sara" Grissom's voice came flooding through the line  
  
Sara took a deep breath. Was she ready to talk to him? Could she talk to him without crying? Without feeling hurt? Betrayed? She wasn't sure.  
  
"Nick's in the bathroom changing" Sara quickly stated  
  
"Sara are you okay?"  
  
'What' Sara thought to herself, "How do you think I'm doing Grissom?" Sara stated without thinking "I mean, shit, I overheard this incredible secret. Something that you should have told me years ago, but you never did. And now you have the audacity to ask me if I'm okay?" Sara stated, her voice rising. "Well I'm not okay! I don't know when I'll be okay! And you are just going to have to deal with that!" Sara screamed into the phone and ended the call.  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*Don't take her smile away from me*  
  
*She's broken and I'm far away*  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*Won't you cure my tragedy*  
  
*If you make the world a stage for me*  
  
*Then I hope that you can hear me scream*  
  
Nick came running out of the bathroom as soon as her heard Sara screaming. He found her sitting on the bed, his cell phone in her hands and tears streaming down her face. He took the cell out of her hands and pulled her body into his arms. He began to whisper words of comfort into her ear and rubbed circles on her back. He wasn't sure who she had just talked too, but he hadn't seen her upset since she found out. He grabbed the cell phone and saw that Grissom's number showed up as the last call received. 'Damn him' Nick thought. He knew it really wasn't Grissom's fault. Grissom didn't expect Sara to answer his phone, but he must have said something to upset her. Her tears broke his heart.  
  
*I can't take this anymore*  
  
*I can't feel this anymore*  
  
*Won't you take and give her pain to me*  
  
*'Cause my whole life I made mistakes*  
  
*Can you hear me scream*  
  
Eventually Sara pulled away from Nick. Her face tear stained and eyes bloodshot.  
  
"Thanks Nicky"  
  
"Anytime" Nick stated "Why don't you lie down and relax and I'll finish packing up our clothes so we can get out of here, okay?"  
  
"Okay" she said as she lay down. She watched Nick stand and finish putting the clothing into their travel bags. She then watched him head back to the bathroom and grab their toothbrushes and the toothpaste. He put them both in a plastic bag as to not get them dirty and threw them into his travel bag. He then walked over to the bed and grabbed his cell phone charger, throwing it in his bag also. Once he was finished, he turned and faced Sara.  
  
"Ready to get out of here?"  
  
Sara lifted herself up from the bed and stood up.  
  
"Yeah, let's get out of here"  
  
Sara walked over to Nick. Each grabbing their respective bags. Sara took her free hand and interlocked in with Nick's. They smiled at each other and headed out of the room. Both ready for their next journey.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Thank you so much for being so extremely patient with me.  
  
The song is "Cure My Tragedy (A Letter to God)" by Cold. This song is amazing. I don't know why, but it was my muse for this chapter. I fell in love with the song earlier this week and was determined to put it in some story. For some reason, today, I just thought "oh my god, it's perfect for Truths". I don't know why though, but it just somehow fits. I highly recommend to everyone to go onto Imesh or Kazaa and download this song. It rocks. Even better go out and buy the CD, the whole CD rocks. (It also has the song Stupid Girl on it and I love that song)  
  
Please read and review. 


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